What’s New in the NA28?

By Olive Tree Staff: Matthew Jonas

I have to admit that when I heard that a new edition of the Novum Testamentum Graece was being published, it wasn’t a big deal for me. I liked the NA27 just fine and while realized that the NA28 would reflect the latest advances in New Testament textual criticism, I wasn’t sure how important it was to me to be on the cutting edge of textual criticism. Before working for Olive Tree, I was an educator and taught classes mainly on Greek and Latin. I used the NA27 in my classes, and we did consult the textual apparatus from time to time. Since the main text was the focus in my classes, I might not need the most recent edition if the changes were limited to the apparatus. When I finally had a chance to look through the NA28though, my attitude changed.

First of all, there are changes to the main text in the NA28 (unlike the NA27, which reprints the same main text used in the NA26). Most of these changes are orthographic, but there are a dozen or so changes in the Catholic Epistles that affect the meaning of the passage. These changes are limited to the Catholic Epistles currently, but my understanding is that the editors of the NA28plan on releasing further revisions to other sections of the New Testament in the future.

While the changes to the main text are significant, the most substantial differences between the NA28 and the NA27 are in the apparatus. The entire apparatus has been revised, but the sections covering the Catholic Epistles also have some additional changes that have not yet been applied to the other sections. The overall purpose of the apparatus has changed in the NA28. In some ways it reminds me a little more of the apparatus included with the UBS4. It serves as an introduction to the sources rather than just a collection of variants. This distinction may seem a little vague, but the resulting apparatus is clearer and easier to use than the previous one.

Beyond the general shift in philosophy, here are some more specific changes that were made to the apparatus:

The distinction between consistently cited witnesses of the first order and of the second order has been eliminated. Now there are just consistently cited witnesses.

The use of sed and et to combine variants has been eliminated.

“Archaic Mark” (i.e. ms 2427) is no longer cited since it has been proven to be a forgery.

Conjectural readings have been completely eliminated.

Citations of the various versions and the Church Fathers have all been “double-checked”

The apparatus for the Catholic Epistles uses “Byz” instead of a Fraktur letter M to represent the Byzantine tradition.

Readings from the newly discovered Papyri 117-121 are included.

The net result of all of these changes is a fresh and exciting new edition of the Greek New Testament. This is the first edition of the Nestle-Aland text that was not edited by Kurt Aland, and the new editor, Holger Strutwolf, made some compelling changes in this edition.

To get the NA28 for The Bible Study App click HERE. Please note you can also get the NA28 bundled with the critical apparatus, Mounce parsings, or both.

Is there a good way to take a look at how the NA28, critical apparatus and Mounce parsings interact with one another on Olive Tree apps? I’ve been interested in this for awhile, but I want to make sure I think it’s helpful first.

What about the Introduction pages of the NA28th? It’s an important part of the edition where we have the explanation about the apparatuses. In the olive tree version is there this introduction? Also, is it possible to make a quote for example with the page number of the edition? I’ve sent this question to he support and I’m still waiting. I wanted to buy soon, but these are doubts that I have to solve before buying.

Yes, that’s it. I wanted to be able to cite where I found something, for example, some information about apparatus in the introduction or the page of the book of the Bible from which I took some apparatuses.
I ask this,because I’m in the seminary preparing my exegesis paper and I think my professor is going to ask about the references, so, if I don’t have the page of the printed version, I don’t know if its a reliable source.
I hope you understand that I want the product. I jus want to know if it really fits my needs.
Thanks again, now for your quick answer.

I just purchased NA28, and yes, the Olive Tree version includes the Preface, Introduction, and End Matter (with the list of manuscripts).

I don’t think it’s possible to quote by page number (but I’m just a fellow-user, not an Olive Tree rep). I found that I can copy text from the Introduction, but when I paste it, it only shows an abbreviated form of the Olive Tree book name as the source. Page numbers corresponding to the print edition don’t seem to be available (as is unfortunately common in e-books).

Hello, I just bought the NA28 with critical apparatus and mounce parings. Would like to know how I can invoke the critical apparatus and the mounce parsings to view them. Are they a part of the text and I have to scroll to get them to work, or do they pop-up when I select the Greek text. I am abit lost and in need of some instructions. Thanks very much. Also, on my iMac I cannot view the parsings at all. There are two books which are in my library for my iPad, allowing me to view the Mounce parsings with the Greek text of the NA28. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers, Johndisab (Jds)

Are there any plans to implement pop up links for the witness citations in the apparatus that would inform of manuscript information? It is in the introduction but man would it be helpful for text study.